The Associated Press

Sun, May 11, 2008 (12:07 a.m.)

Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman _ who quit the Democratic Party 12 years ago to become a Republican _ has accused likely Democratic opponent Al Franken of changing positions, demeanor and rhetoric in his attempt to win a Senate seat.

Coleman makes the charge in a fundraising e-mail sent out this week with the subject line, "It's Hard to Deny this Kind of Evolution."

"After decades of carrying the flag for radical left-wing causes, his extremely liberal viewpoints are couched in softer, more acceptable terms," Coleman writes of the former "Saturday Night Live" star. "And for the most part, he's stopped using curse words in public."

The e-mail prompted dropped jaws in Democratic circles Thursday. Franken campaign spokesman Andy Barr responded that Coleman himself has been all over the political map in his career.

"What's most troubling about Norm Coleman is what he has evolved into since he came to Washington," Barr said. "And that's someone who always puts special interests first and doesn't look out for Minnesota families."

State Democratic Party chairman Brian Melendez called the e-mail "one of the most hypocritical political pieces I have ever seen."

In the letter, Coleman says that throughout his career _ as both mayor of St. Paul, Minn., and senator _ he's been a "commonsense conservative," and he didn't back off that when asked about the letter Thursday.

"I have been in the U.S. Senate for six years," he said. "My positions have been very consistent."

As a college student at Hofstra University in New York, Coleman was a long-haired protester against the Vietnam War. By the time he became mayor of St. Paul in 1993, he was already a conservative Democrat, and made the party switch in 1996. The following year, he won re-election as a Republican.